George ix



l uuirnufsrarus Parenti oruroie.

- encuen n. vnu ansehen iiiin ententes o. trarne-or :unav ironic u.. tr.

' vritorti-ritieni iuu'rnon.

tentait. y No Jtlrawing.' v

To all whom t may concern? Be it lmown thatwe, Geenen D'. `VAN hnsniiieic and CHARLES Gr. Marini, citizens oit the llnited States, residing at New York, inthe county ot New York 'and State oit New lforlr, have invented certain new and luselll tui lmprovenients in lFlotation Methods, ot which the `following is a specification. y

This invention is an improvement over presentmethods ot ldotation, 'is applicable to so-called porphyry ores ot copper, part1cularly .to those which have heretofore given unsatisfactory recoveries by the ordinary methods ot flotation, and has Afor its chief object the obtainance oit'. greatly increased recoveries. f l.

hn eirainple oit an ore oit this lkind is'one,

which has the following composition.

- Per cent. Cu 1.5 to "-2 iliz FE nl hlgU, 15 Call 0.25 ldg@ 0.75 @l -4.' 5 Unid @u 0.15'to01135 'llhe large scale operation ol flotation has not given satist'actoryrecovery ori this maw.,

rial, the average percentage of copper recovered by dotation based on the total copvper in the dotation vfeed being about M70.

' lliinilar ores from other localiticshave falso yielded low recoveries.

ltlirtensive eirperiment in variations ot the I ordinarily recognized variables ot the usual llotation practice has not resulted in any very largely improved 'etliciency, and the same is true for variation in apparatus.

lt has been delinitely proved that these low recoveries arenot dueto the character ot the copper minerals themselves but to certain constituents ot the ganglio whose pres i ence in greater or less amounts is responsiblel tor the diilculty. i

'lllhis is shown by the tact that under strictly`- parallel conditions of dictation,

M370 to 70%. The average percentage ot.

ftpeci'tit-ation ot Letters latent. n Pmilgmtigrl Digne., tmlljlmt, Vhpplileation tiled September 2li, lull?. herir-il Nofltdttl. i

4copper recovered on this series ot samples by 'ordinary flotation methods was 37%,

A' with average tailings ol 1.2%.. By operating by our improved method we have obtained an averagerecovery on the same materials oit 79%, with tailings containing 0.t%.'

'We have also been able to take the tailings from a mill, operating by ordinary dotation methods, carrying 0.73% Cu, and by the ap- "plication ot our. improved method reduce.

the coppertherein to 0.36%,

I(,lur invention consists in theY discovery thatthe cause tor the low recoveries by dotatitl uri-

tion on ores ot this ,character is the inherent physical character ot a part oit the gangue constituents, and in' the 'utilization olf this physical character to produce a new and usetul edect ,ae a step 1n a process ot `dotation,

4as will be understood from the lollowingde scription.

vii

, 'llheinvention has mainly todo with eniul i sication and the proper control oi? the same. v ln the usual descriptions ot llotation procf esse's and in'inaiiy patent specifications, the

` operation oit mixing the oil with the pulp is called emulsitication. 1While it is true that there is no sharp dividing line between emulsions and mere tine subdivision of an oil, it is also true, as can easily he shown, thatan voiluihicli is truly emulsiiied cannot have a Selective action for minerals, .except when under certain special conditions the mineral itself is the eniulsitying agent. Further more, the inoiean oil can be subdivided without becoming einulsitied the greater will be its oiling ei'hcicncy, and tliiseliciency will be lessened in proportion to the tendency to true emulsilication.

hlso it is evident that any condition or reagent producing einulsilication will -be'preju- 4`dicial to flotation in proportion to' 'its emul sitication eiiicicncy provided this condition of complete einulsilication is not removed or destroyedfprior to the actual flotation operation. rl'liis is the explanation 'for the injurious action oit certain organic materials, such .as-glue, saponin, tannin, etc. lt is also a tact that emulsions ot oil can be produced.

bythe action oil?` solid substances known4 as interlacial substances, which are particles having the property of being' Wet readily by` neither oil nor water.

` lllhen an ore contains copper minerals .y vvhich -under otation conditions are interfacial, this is not so important,l since by sulfilcient agitation they can be made to emulsify with oil andv be subsequently. removed, b iit when the gangue constituent of an creas' distinguished 'from its mineral constituents' Which are tofberecovered contains any'considerable amount of interfacial substances then commercial flotation becomes difficult or ossible,l since with ample oil We shall in suc a case have ay concentrate too lovgrade to be commercial or else with less oil We shall rhave a greatly lowered extraction.

Our invention consists in the discovery thatthe above facts can be utilized to give `a greatly rimproved recovery by first adding oil to a pulp of Water and finely ground ore the gangue of which' contains inorganic emulsifyin'g constituents, which u ndenordi- 20'nary'otat1o'n operation arei prepidicial to recovery, and then agitating until complete emulsification takes place. In some cases,

' when working on ores not having enough grade concentrates.. complete deflocculation'of the pulp and subemulsifying constituents, it may be neces- 'sarytoadd a-'small amount of an auxiliary emulsifying agent.

'Following agitationwhich is donesolely g. for the lpurpose of emulsification andnot for miXing'in air, we add an agent capable of deout the pulp insures the coniplefest possible oiling of the mineral particles and consequently the lbest selectivity.

.l.\/loreover, the `Vbeneficial results of this.

dual process of deflocculation and subsequent flocculation arenot'confined onl'y to the oils but also are very important in their relation to the mineral colloids present in the ore. Most ores contain clayey or colloidal portions which adhere` strongly to all particlesand are aprolific source of low Now by a process' of sequent flocculation of "the resulting `colloidal suspension (which process may` be, and is,

' accomplished by the same reagents andioperations'used to affect the oils? the clayeyv portions are first cleaned from t ie surface of @Q themineral by being suspended through the ppulp, land subsequently re-flocculated, apart vvfrom the mineral, leaving the mineral portions of the ore in the cleane'st and best possiblecondition for flotation.

stroying or removing the condition Aproducivhichliave heretofore been soV troublesome to the successful flotation of sonie ores,liave the property, in themselves, of stabilizing `oil emulsions because the colloidal portions, u sually high in alumina, tend to go into the.

oil-Water interfacial surface, (being thereby the cause of the poor recoveries obtained by the usual methods) and thatconsequently these materials iii themselves can constitute the reagents for emulsiication necessary for the first step of our process. We may, however, use, in addition, certain other chemical or other emiilsifyiiig reagents iii order to be better able to control exactly the condition of deflocculation as previously explained.

As an example of our process the following procedure will show the precise steps ivliicli must be taken.

-A certain ore, containing 2.05% Cu, gives as the best result bythe ordinary processes of flotation a recovery of 20.8% and tailings containing 1.87% Cu, due to its extremely clayey character.

Y We make a pulp containing this ore, finely ground, lpart to water, 4`parts. 1 To this partcularare We add .an amount of sodium hydrate, determined vas most suitable by experi1nent, namely 1 lb. per ton of original ore,- and crude petroleum equal to 1% or more of the original oie, and subject this 'mixture to violent agitation in any suitable or practical type of machine. The object of this agitation is not to produce a froth, and froth cannot be and is not formed thereby, but complete emulsiiieation of the oil and colloidal solids results, Without any separation of the metallic mineral constituents.-

of sodium sulfid equivalent to 1.5 lbs. per

ton dry ore, this quantitybeiiig again determined by careful experiment. The pulp is iioiv agitated until deiiiulsification of the pulp ensues,` and it is then subjected to the ordinary process of flotation in any of thc practical types of machines for this purpose. Small amounts of so-called frotliing oilsmay be added during the last stage depending on the type of machine and whether a permanent or cvancscent type of froth is desired, but this is not aii essential part of the invention as good recoveries may be ohtained without any frotliing oil ivhateif'er.

Under these conditions we have' obtained on all copper ores tested a considerably nettare higher recovery'than by the use ot the usual tlotation methods.- s l Be it understood, however, that we do not wish to limit our invention to the use. of the specific reagentsyor their-:relative amounts,

, "as shown above. Any emulsifying l agent vvhichmay be either originally presentin Fia the oreyor 'added thereto trom Without at the tlrst stage-"ot the process', may be used inf the" tirststep'of our method.' And, similarly,` any demulsifying agentisadequate v tor the second step.

iti

tlltl hloris the sodium sulid (it this is used) contemplated for the purpose of sulfidizing theyoxid copper as for exampleV in U. S. Patent No. 80 ,501 granted to lAlfred Schwartz,\

agent. Un the contrary this process isintended primarily-tor the recovery of suliids from ores L carrying considerable clayey gangue, as, for example, the Arizona" porphyries. The sodium sulfidand caustic soda are .l merely cited as specific examples of cheap and convenient reagents which may be used n'our process. Furthermore While the example given is applied to copper ore,

We do rnot Wish to be limited in the use of the process'to such ores, since' equally good results may be obtained 'on other ores, and also as stated. the process may be used for removing clay trom other minerals for example in an iron ore. Furthermore it should be noted that when caustic is added as an emulsifying agent, theoil used must be a nonsaponiiiable oil, and there is produced not a soapbut merely a change in the physical distribution of Vthe oil, `-and also the demulsifying agent added does not act chemically but only. to ...again physically change the oil. 4

`lin carrying out our process we have found that a suitable oil is fuel oil, say California 'tuel oil, but other oils maybeused, ythe es sential requirement being an oil that can be cmulsified under proper conditions and that is noty chemicallyactcd on by the emulsitytitl ingagent either, presentin the ore or added to the pulp.

Furthermore We have found that when the amoui'its 'otsuch oils are reducedv below the amounts given thev recovery percentages are correspondingly reduced. For example7 with a quantity ot oil'equal to 0.5% 'of the dry ore we obtained a recovery of 32.9% ,ot' the total copper,` and' by increasing the but is used as a delnulsi tyingIv amount oit .oil to 1.0% we obtained a re-l covery of 08.5%." Y v 4 ll-laving `thus described the invention,` what is claimed as neuT is: 4

l. l-tn improved method ot ore separation which comprises adding to a pulp of'water and ground ore, an emulsitying agent causing true emulsiiication of the agent so' added, in demulsiit'ying the agent, andin ,operation oittlotation to e'ect .dellocculating any oit Water and finely then subjecting thetreated ore pulp to the ot' the v valuable mineral stituents thereof.

2. 2th improved method ot ore separation which comprises adding to apulp ot water and 'gang-ue conseparation and ground ore Containing an emulsitying.

agent, a substantially insoluble oil capable ot' forming a true `emulsion- With the Water and the emulsitying constituent ot the ore,

. adding enough of an extraneous emulsifying agent to compensate for any deficiency oji' such agent contained in `the ore, the pulp `thus treated 'to cause'true emulsiiication, in adding a demulsiitying agent and r Vagitating the pulp until demulsiication has taken pla-ce and the demulsified oil has attached itselt toythe valuable mim' eral constituents ot` the ore, and in then sub'- jecting the treated pulp to thev operation oi"r flotation to ehlect separation oit' the valuable mineraland the gangue constltuents.

3. An improved method of ore separation which comprises adding to a pulp ot Water producing a iroth until a true emulsiticzu tion and distribution ot the emulsiiiable agent and detloccn'lation of the gangue comy stituent's ot the ore is effected,V in adding a tlocculating or de'e'mulsitying agent capable in agitating oi' neutralizing or overcoming the detloccu.- I

lating or emulsiiying action ot the gangue constituent et the ore and ot the deflocculat ing or einulsifying agent added, 1n again .agitating substantially Without the intro-` duction ot air bubbles and Without producing a froth until 'Hocculation and demulsitication ot' the emulsifiable agent and gangue constituents .take place anduutil the demulsilied agent has attached itselt' to thc 'valuable mineral constituents ot the ore` and in then subjecting tlie treated pulp to the operation oiI flotation by any ot the usual methods to eitect separation of the valuable mineral and the gangue constituents;

LA .step in an improved nlethod ot ore separation which comprises adding to a pulp ground ore the ganga@ of which contains an insoluble, inorganic, emulsiityingagent,` a substantially insoluble substance capable-of forming a 'true emulits `sion withthe emulsifying agents of the ore,`.

- fand incapable of being acted on vchemically thereby, and agitating to effect a true emul- A I -containing aI sufficient amount of an extra# sification.

A step in4 an improved methodof oreseparation' which comprises adding to a pulp otwater and finely ground .ore the gangue ofw`hicli contains an insoluble, inorganic,

f eniulsif'ying agent, a'substa-ntially insoluble substance capable offfornnng' a true einul-- `rating substantially' without introducing air bubbles and without' producing a froth, a

pulp of' water and finely ground ore the.

gangue of' which contains an insoluble, in-

'organiq emulsifying agent, said `pulp also containing a substancecapable of Aforming a' true emulsion withlwater and the emulsifying constituent of the ore, 'and Afurther iieous emulsifying' agent vto produce true emulsification and to compensate foriany deficiency of sucli an agent in the ore until true 'emulsification and to 'compensate for `any deficiency of'such emulsifying constituent contained in the ore, agitating the mixture-to produce true. emulsifieation and deflocculation, addinga demulsifying avent and again agitating-until flocculation ofij the gangue. constituents, and demulsification -of the emulsifiable agent takes place,"and until attachment of the leinulsifiableagent to the valuable mineral particles has Aoccurred, said mixing being substantially without introduction of air and without the production of a froth, and subjecting the mixtureto the operation of flotation by any of the usual methods to effect separation of the valuable mineral and theV gangue constituents of the ore. 9. in improved method of ore sepai'atio which comprises adding to an ore pulp containing ore constituents capable of truly emulsifying an oil, an oil eapableof forming a true emulsion with the water and said` orc constituents, in adding sodium hydrate and agitating the pulp to cause true emulsifi-l -c-ation, in adding sodium sulfid 'and agitrue emulsification and 'distribution of the f emulsifiable agent and deflocculation of the gangue'constituents ot' the ore is effected.

'l'.y A step' in-an improved method Aof ore sepa 'ation which comprises thoroughly agitatiing substantialli without introdiicing'airv bubbles and without producing` a froth, a

pulp of ,water 'and finely ground ore the gangue of which contains an insoluble, inor- `ganic, emulsifying agent, said -pulp also containing a substantially insoluble substance vc'apable of forming a true emulsion with water and the en'nilsifying constituent off the ore, and further containing a sufficient amount of Ian 'extraneous .emulsifying agent to produce true emulsification'and to compensate for any deficiency vof such constituents in the ore until true-emul-sif'cation and distribiition of the emulsifiable agent and defloceulation of the gangue constituent of the ore is effected, in then adding a de'e'mulsifying agent, and in then agitating the pulp until fiocculation of the gangue constituents and deinulsification of the emulsifi'able .agent VYtakes place and until attachment of the emulsifiable agentto the valuable mineral constituents ofthe ore talyies place.

8. An improved method of ore separation v` which comprises addi-ng to a plup of Water and finely ground ore the gangue of which contains an insoluble, inorganic, .emulsifying agent, a substantially insoluble substance capable of forming a true emulsion with -Water and the emiilsifyin'g constituent of the ore, adding a sufficient amount of an extraneous emulsiying agent to produce tating the ulp lto causecomplete demulsific'ation and) adhesion of oil to the valuable mineral constituents of the pulp, and in then subjecting the treat-ed pulp to the operation of flotation to efi'ect separation of the valuable mineral and the gangue constituents thereof. f

, 1'0. An improved method ofore separation which comprises adding to a mixture of water and finely ground ore containing eral constituents of the ore, and in then subjecting the treated pulp to the operation of flotation to effect sepaiiition of the valuable( mineral and the gangue 4constituents.

l1. An improved method 'of ore se )aration which comprises adding to apulp of -.Water and finely ground ore, the gangue of which ore contains an inorganic.. insoluble' emulsiying' agent, a substantially insoluble substance capable of formi-ng a true emulsion with water and. with the emulsifying constituent of the ore` in adding enough sodium 'hydrate'to produce true emulsification and to 'compensate for any deficiency of such agentcontained in the ore and also ido in a sufficient amount and for the purpose ofV completely deflocculating any gangue substance mechanically adhering to the valuable i'nineral constituent,- in thoroughly agitatlll , la punir ing the pulp substantially Without introdue ing air bubbles'or producing a :troth until a .true emulsilication and distribution of the emulsiliable agent and the doc'culation oit the gangue constituents otl the ore is ettected, in adding sodium sultid, in again agitatingsubstantially without the introduction ot air bubbles and without producing a trotli untiwl deniulsitication and tlocculation respectively of the einulsiliable agent and gangue constituents take tllll li tl llt t place and until the demulsiied agent has attached itself tothe `valiuible mineral constituents ot the ore, and in then subjecting tlie treated pulp to the-operation of 4flota tion by any ot the usual methods to etlect separation ot the Valuable mineral and the gangue constituents.

l2. t step in an improved method ot ore separation which comprises adding to a` pulp ot Water and tinely groundore containing an insoluble,l inorganic, emulsifying agent, a substantially insoluble substance capable ot forming 'a true emulsion With the emulsityiiig agent of the ore, and in then adding a sutlicient amount of sodium hydrate to produce true emulsitication.

13. fl step in an improved method of ore yseparation Whiclicomprises thoroughly agitating substantially Without introducing air bubbles and Witlioutproducing a froth, a

pulp containing a mixture ot Water and linel @round ore containino' an insoluble 23 es a inorganic,emulsitying agent, said pulp also containing a substantially insoluble substance capable of toi-ming a true emulsion with Water and the emulsitying constituents ot the ore, and iturther containing a suflicient' amount ofv sodium hydrate to produce i rue emulsication and to ycompensate :tor Aany deciency otsucli emulsitying constituents in the ore, until true .emulsitication and distribution ot the emulsiiiable agent and de- 'tlocculation ot the emulsitying ore constituents is edected.

lll. ll step in an improved method of o re separation which comprises 'thoroughly agitating substantially Wit-hout introducing air bubbles and Without producing a froth,

a pulp ot Water and nely ground ore con-. taining' an insoluble, inorganic, emulsifying-` agent and also containing a substantially in. soluble substance capable ot' :torming a 'true fiable agent Vtales place and until attachment ot' the emulsitiable agent to the 'valu able mineral constituentstakes place..-4

l'. it step in an improved method ot ore lseparation which comprises adding to a pulp ot Water and finely ground ore containing an insoluble, inorganic, emulsitying agent, a substantially insoluble substance capable ot forming a trueemulsion with Water and the eniulsitying uconstituent ot' the ore, a suilicient amount ot sodium hy- "lll lli

drate to produce true emulsitcation and to compensate for any deficiency of such emul- ,sitying constituent contained in the ore,

agitating the mixture to produce true emulsification and deflocculatiom;adding sodium sulid, and again 'agitating the pulp until `ilocculation or' the emulsiying `constituent and demulsilication ot' the eniulsiiable agent take place and until attachment ot the` enulsillable agent t the valuable minerall particles has occurred7 said agitatingbeing substantiallyWithout introduction ot air and Without theproductionot a lrotli.

16. An improved method of separating emulsrfying ore constituents which coinprises adding' to a pulp of Water and nnely ground ore, a substantially insoluble substance capable of forming a true emulsion with water and with the emulsiying constituents of the ore, in adding enough'ot an extraneous emulsitying agent to produce' true emulsilication of the emulsili-able agent in amount and for the purpose olf completely detlocculating the gangue substances mechanically adhering tofthe Valuablemineral content, then thoroughly agitating or mixing the pulp substantially Withoutintroducing air bubbles and Without producf ing a 'froth until true eniulsitication and dis-V tribution ot the emulsitiable agentand delocculation ot. the. gangue and emulsityingore constituents is ellected, eiliecting oleemulsication, and then separating the Valuable niineral and gangue constituents of tlie ore.

17. fin iniproved'metliod of separating undesirable ore constituents which comprises adding to a pulp oit' Water and finely ground ore, a substantially insoluble substance capable ot forming a true emulsion with Water and with the undesirable emulsilying constituents oit the ore, in adding enough sodium liydrate to produce .trueeinulsitication of the emulsiliable agent and lill dll

tti

lltltl lltlb ini to compensate tor any deciency ot the emulsiitying agent' contained in the ore and also in amount and-,tor the purpose ol com-A pletely detlocculating tbe gangue substances mechanically adhering to the Valuable mineral constituent et the ore, tlientlioi'ouglily agitating or mining the pulp substantially Without introducing air bubbles andV Without producing a trotli until true emulsilica tion and distribution ot tlie emuleiidable llftli' the valuable mineral ents of the ore.

agent and defocculation of the gangue and emulsifying ore Constituents 1s effected, effecting demulsication and thenseparatng and gangue constitu- 18. A11 improved method of flottion which comprises 'adding tofu pulp of Water and ground orefeJ 'constituent of which' latter is an emulsifying agent, an 'emulsifiableagent, causing true emulsication of the 10 In testimony whereof we'aix our signzil5 tures.-

GEORGE D. VAN ARSDALE. CHARLES G. MAIER.

me] Y l 

